The Universal Electrode Guide —a manufacturer of precision multi-cavity, multi-technology injection molds for Fortune 500 customers in the medical, pharmaceutical and packaging markets—eliminates maintaining an inventory of dozens of different sized electrode guides, or having to wait for a special-sized guide to be made and delivered. “It also eliminates having to inspect each size guide [...]
Moldflow’s plastic injection molding simulation software products are the world’s most widely used, technically advanced software products in the plastic injection molding industry. […]
There are two basic types of plating – electrolytic and electroless. Electrolytic plating requires electricity to make the process occur. There is a positive and negative charge. The positive is called the anode and the negative is the cathode. The part to be plated gets the negative charge so it becomes the cathode. The anode [...]
Typically in a simulation program, the user designs CAD solids that collectively represent the CNC machine being used to cut the mold. The user also specifies how the solids move and interact, mirroring the operation of the actual machine. Tool, workpiece and spindle attachment locations are defined via user coordinate system (UCS) points consisting of [...]
To provide the high-performance results demanded in today’s moldmaking, many indexable-insert ballnose endmills use PVD-coated, precision-ground, micrograin- carbide inserts. Experience shows that such inserts perform best with sharp edges, […]
CAD/CAM companies realized these issues a few years ago and have come up with many ways to handle this abstract side of product development. One unique solution allows moldmakers and their customers to communicate and securely share data over the web. […]
Because of the additional complexity of multi-task programs with their multiple tools cutting at the same time, multiple spindles, and parts being exchanged between multiple spindles, the need to accurately simulate and validate the programs before executing them on the machine tool becomes very important. Within machine simulation, there are a number of distinct phases: [...]
Automation is not all about data and features, though. Many CAM systems have sophisticated automation integrated into the software that analyzes the part geometry. […]
Another aspect of push-button automation is the use of machinable features. Solid models in CAD/CAM systems are built from a set of interrelated features. In a CAM system, the capability of these features to describe a model is extended to include machining information that becomes integrated into the part model. […]
Automation starts with a database that stores and organizes information about conditions in the shop and how the company machines its parts. The purpose of the database is to create a virtual replica of all the cutting tools, raw material and CNC machines that actually exist on the shop floor. […]